Invisible
by sparkly red ribbon
Summary: Mai is watching Jonouchi from afar when she realizes he's watching her too, one shot. for Valentine's Day. polarshipping.


AN: In the Valentine's Day spirit, of course. BTW, I haven't actually watched a lot of Battle City so if my setting seems off in anyway...oops.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the computer I'm typing on.

**Invisible**

Sometime Early Battle City

Mai leaned against an old, brick, building, slipping her cards into her violet jacket pocket. Her jacket did not protect her from the nighttime chill of Domino City. _Damn, it's cold_ she thought bitterly, but the fresh air was worth it. She didn't feel like going inside, eating, sleeping, or thinking about the battle city tournament. She just felt like waiting, and watching. She watched couples and wanderers stroll down the sidewalk as she stood there alone. Once in a while, somebody would glance at her, nodding or waving in acknowledgement, but for the most part, she was invisible.

A short distance away, there was a group of four huddled together, most likely for warmth. Though she could not hear what they were saying, she could tell they were talking happily and excitedly. A certain star-haired boy had just won another duel monsters battle earlier that day. _Does he ever lose? __Sheesh__, he's going to win this thing, just like he won Pegasus' tournament, _she thought angrily. That meant that she could not win. _I can't give up yet! I have to try…_she consoled herself, trying to rouse some encouragement.

She didn't know why they were out here still. Maybe they were so absorbed in their conversation that they'd lost track of time. She wouldn't have been surprised. Those four were disgustingly inseparable. Not that she was any different. She hated them, she mocked them, but somehow, she couldn't tear herself away from them. She was in awe of them…of one in particular.

She could hear Jonouchi's boisterous laughter over any other noise in the sidewalk. It resonated in her head a certain way; it was like a catchy song she could never get out of her head. His voice carried at least a hundred feet (it didn't help that the nighttime was generally quiet). It was low pitched and saturated with confidence. There was nothing suave about it, yet it rang through her ears smoothly. Inside she swooned on hearing it. She blushed, she knew. She could always feel the heat rushing to her cheeks every time she spoke. She only retaliated by yelling and acting rude. He would believe her face was pink because she was angry, not in love. The few times she'd been able to talk to him normally were moments she dwelled on during lonely times. It didn't comfort her much though. He always talked to her so casually; he talked to her as if they were only acquaintances…maybe that was just Mai's perspective. It was disappointing to have such an ordinary conversation with somebody when she was wishing inside for something so much more.

He stood tall among the four, his blonde hair making him stand out. His lanky, muscular body stood next to Honda with an air of happiness. Next to Honda and Anzu, she could see his lips moving rapidly and his face expression was lively. His body language was vivid and wild. To Mai, it looked as if he was describing somebody beating someone else up…or maybe he was talking about duel monsters…Mai had no idea. All she knew was that he looked a ridiculous waving his arms around, kicking the air, and yelling excitedly. That was exactly what she liked about him. There were no reservations with him. There was no shame, and there were no limits. He liked to have fun. As she listened to him make the other three laugh, she couldn't help but smile. She was half smiling in envy of his three friends, and half smiling in admiration of the blonde.

Through his story telling and over Yugi's head, Jonouchi locked eyes with Mai. He didn't even mean to, he must've been looking around and simply happened to run his eyes over her. Instead of looking away, Mai kept her gaze. There were few times she got to look him in the eyes so close up. Every other time, as she was just doing, she would look when he was looking elsewhere. Instinctively she had started to look away, but somehow managed not to. Jonouchi looked at her blankly for a short moment. She wondered what he would do…

He didn't look away. Was this a staring contest now? Mai thought to herself. If that was so, then she would gladly oblige. She had no problem with looking into his eyes. In fact, she longed to. His brown eyes's stare didn't unlock with hers. Her focus was only on Jonouchi, and his focus was only on her. _If only it were like this all the time,_ she thought.

Mai crossed her arms and smirked, trying to look calm and collected. She resisted the urge to squirm and look away, to smile and blush, and most of all, to scowl at him. She looked at him as if no abnormal thoughts were going through her mind, as if all she was seeing was a mere acquaintance in front of her.

Jonouchi was not talking anymore. He stood there silently, looking at her with an incredulous expression, as if he was pleasantly surprised. He must've surprised his friends, because all three of them whirled around to see what he was staring at. Mai could not see what their expression was. She knew, however, that they were staring back and forth between her and Jonouchi.

There was an awkward moment of silence. On the outside, Mai knew she looked calm, but on the inside, she was having a crisis. _Jonouchi__…__ I want to look away…but I want to look at you at the same time…__this would all __be better if we were alon__e,_ she thought wishfully.

Mai looked down at the grey sidewalk. She cursed inside at herself. It was too much for her. She couldn't stand the nerves and the pumping adrenaline inside her. She looked back up at Jonouchi, who was still looking at her. He was smiling at her giddily, as if he was blushing. He couldn't have been blushing…_oh god, he's blushing at me, oh no…_Mai thought panicking. She could feel it coming, but she could not stop it…

She smiled widely, letting out a small, uncontrolled laugh. She showed him her teeth, and he could see the pink on her cheeks. She didn't want to blush in front of him. It was so girly and childish. Jonouchi smiled back at her wholeheartedly, waving his arm at her. Still looking at him, she saw him take a step forward and stop. He was hesitating. She saw him reach into a bag that Anzu was holding and pull something out. It was hidden behind Yugi's body. He started walking briskly towards her.

She could see it the second he walked past Yugi. He was holding a bouquet of roses and a box. Mai's stomach jolted and her eyes widened. _There's no__ way…he couldn't be giving those to me! __There's__ no way…oh please don't do this! Don't get my hopes up. Please don't let __those flowers be for me…because__know they couldn't be…he's still walking towards me…he's almost here…are the flowers really for me? Please let those flowers __be__ for me…oh, __Jonouchi__, I didn't buy you anything in return…_

Jonouchi looked shyly at her shoes. He held the roses and the box out to her.

"These are for you, Mai. Happy Valentine's Day," he said quietly, unlike how he usually spoke to his friends. Mai hesitated, and then grabbed the bouquet and the box. She held and stared at them disbelievingly in her hands. Jonouchi turned around and started to walk away.

"Jonouchi!" she shouted (louder than she needed to, but out of pure desperation). He turned around and started walking back towards her. Each one of his steps was erratic. He was fumbling. This time he looked at her though.

"Thankyou," she said meekly. _Damn it, how do I say it__Now is the perfect time, I know it!_ "I…didn't get you anything in return," she finished. Although it was true, it wasn't what she wanted to say. He was now standing right in front of her, almost too close. Her personal space was being invaded by him, but, because it was him, she didn't really mind. It was weird to see him this up close. His eyes looked even brighter, even though they were so dark. She could see the individual strands of his hair, and each chunk of his bushy bangs that hung just above his eyes.

"That's alright," he said, looking at her. Now they were staring eye to eye again. Mai fidgeted uncomfortably, although she wasn't uncomfortable. She was just nervous. They were awfully close. Was it her, or were they getting closer?

"If I had known…that you wanted to get me something…I would've gotten you something too. I wanted to…" she said. She heard Jonouchi breathe in sharply. She could hear his breathing, she noticed. In fact, she could feel his breathing too. They were so close. She suddenly realized they were so close that she couldn't even see him anymore. He was just a shaded, peach colored mass in front of her unfocused eyes.

"Mai?" Jonouchi asked, almost whispering. She could feel his breath on her lips. How did he get so close?

"Yes?" she replied softly, uneasy about what he was about to say. She was afraid he might make this more awkward then it already was. They were extremely close. She could feel his chest touching hers. She was on the brink of closing her eyes. What was the point of keeping them open if she couldn't see anything in front of her? His eyes were closed, she noticed. Her heart lifted. That could only mean one thing. She leaned forward.

Their lips touched. The second they did, Jonouchi hastily wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him. Mai could only stand there limp, unsure of what to do. She held her roses in one hand, her box in the other. She wrapped her fully loaded arms awkwardly around Jonouchi's neck. She was so nervous, she could barely register what was happening. He was kissing her…he was still kissing her. He pulled away, leaving her wet lips to the cold night air. He kissed her again, this time with one of his hands behind her head. He pulled her face closer to his, but he didn't really need to. _We're kissing! He's kissing me!_ Mai thought blankly as she leaned forward, pressing her lips into his. She could barely believe. In fact, this must've been some sort of dream…

Deciding she didn't want to make out with anybody, not even Jonouchi, in public (she despised the term PDA), she pulled away and took a step back. Jonouchi looked dreamy. His eyes were only half open, and his lips were slightly parted. His cheeks were pink. Mai knew her cheeks must have been cherry red; her face was burning.

"Happy Valentine's Day?" she said awkwardly. It seemed appropriate enough. He smiled widely.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mai."

She looked at him in the eyes and he looked at her back.

"Jonouchi…would you like to get a cup of coffee…or anything you like?" she asked him confidently. He nodded, as she guessed he would. They walked off towards the café feeling carefree-at least she did, which was a first. Jonouchi looked at her.

"Oh, what about the gang, should we invite them?" Jonouchi asked (quite inappropriately, she thought). Mai scowled.

"What? Forget them! This is about us!" she said angrily. He only smiled.

"Oh…so I guess this is a date?" he said. _Of COURSE it's a date, you idiot!_

"Yes, it is," she said, repressing her anger. She could let him have it eventually, but not on the first date.

* * *

AN: Hooray! Happy Valentine's Day on Thursday everybody. Hopefully we all get some chocolate... 


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